Devoted family man hit by car is mourned

Mark Arner

RANCHO BERNARDO — A 79-year-old man who was hit by a car and killed Saturday morning was a retired Navy doctor and devoted family man who volunteered with a group that helps North County's poor, his family said yesterday.

Dr. Billy Don Viele was taking the family dog and a neighbor's pet for a walk when he was fatally injured.

Frances Viele said the couple met in 1950 at Boone County Hospital in Columbia, Mo., when her future husband was about to graduate with a bachelor's degree and she was a registered nurse.

Billy Don Viele later graduated from Harvard Medical School. He worked as a Navy doctor for 24 years, his wife said. In 1971, he was transferred to San Diego, and the couple settled in Rancho Bernardo.

He specialized in obstetrics and gynecology in the Navy and later in private practice at Pomerado Hospital. He also treated patients in drug and alcohol rehabilitation at Pomerado's Sunrise Center.

Viele's youngest son said his father helped care for him at home after he was disabled in a car accident 25 years ago.

“He's done everything for me,” said James Viele, 52. “He feeds me. He takes care of me and helps me with anything I like to do.”

“He prepared tax returns for the poorest members of our community, and he donated his personal library to us of resources for drug and alcohol abuse,” Stewart-Pohlman said.

Viele was crossing Rancho Bernardo Road near Via Del Campo shortly before 10 a.m. when he was hit by a Ford Mustang, police said. One of the dogs also died. The 18-year-old motorist was not cited because Viele had not crossed at a marked crosswalk and was deemed at fault in the accident, said Sgt. Dan Wall, a San Diego police traffic investigator.

Viele is survived by his wife, Frances; sons James, 52, Robert, 54, of San Diego, and Steve, 57, of Kansas; and a daughter, Janet Eckles, 49, of Escondido.

Viewing and visitation is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at McLeod Mortuary, 1919 E. Valley Parkway. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church, 17010 Pomerado Road. Burial is private.